If you're referring to the houses on Champlain Avenue, north of the 401 just on the border between Whitby and Oshawa, those houses were bought out by (I think) the MTO so that land can be cleared to make way for a new 401 interchange with Stevenson Road (the Park Road on/off ramps to the immediate east would then be decommissioned). Already a few houses have been victims of arson and general demolition. Here are a few pics from my winter scouting: